Information contained in the preceding chapters of this publication refer to deaths registered during the 2010 calendar year. In this chapter, death statistics are based on a year of occurrence, that is, the year in which the death actually occurred, rather than the year it was registered. The presentation of year of occurrence data in this publication facilitates international comparisons.

There are a proportion of deaths that occur in a year which are not registered until subsequent years. The international standard for publishing on a year of occurrence basis is to include deaths registered within the relevant occurrence year, and deaths for that same occurrence year which are registered the year immediately following. For example, deaths occuring in 2009 that have been registered in both 2009 and 2010 are presented below.

Analysis of deaths in Australia has shown that the number of deaths registered after the second year are not significant; that is, there is a very small number of deaths registered after the second year.

Year of occurrence data allow for seasonal analysis, and data are not distorted by the effects of late registrations or changes in time lags in processing registrations. In those countries where registration systems are complete and timely, there is not a significant difference between the number of deaths derived on a year of registration basis and those on a year of occurrence basis.

For Australia, approximately 95% of deaths registered in a particular year occurred in that year. However, variations can occur in certain subsets of the population and for particular causes of death. For instance, while 94.8% of the total 140,760 deaths registered in 2009 occurred in the same year, only 86.7% of the 2,405 Indigenous deaths and 91.6% of 9,043 deaths due to External causes registered in 2009 occurred in that year. More detailed data for specific causes or population groups are available from the ABS on request.

Comparison of Year of Occurrence and Year of Registration data for 2009

The following table shows the number of deaths occurring in 2009 which were registered in 2009 and 2010. 11.4% of deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people occurring in 2009 (and registered in either 2009 or 2010) were registered late, in 2010. This compared with 5.4% for the total population.

A late registration is defined as a death which is registered after the end of the year in which the death occurred. For example, a death which occurred in 2009 registered in 2010 or later is classified as a late registration.

8.1 SELECTED CAUSES: 2009 Year of Occurence(a)(b)

Registered in 2009

Registered in 2010

Total as at 2010

Late Registrations

Cause of death and ICD-10 code

no.

no.

no.

%

INDIGENOUS(c)

All Causes

2 089

269

2 358

11.4

TOTAL(d)

All Causes(e)

133 477

7 593

141 070

5.4

Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)

1 704

101

1 805

5.6

Neoplasms (C00-D48)

40 025

2 158

42 183

5.1

Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism (D50-D89)

405

18

423

4.3

Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)

5 570

264

5 834

4.5

Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F99)

6 187

347

6 534

5.3

Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99)

5 604

335

5 939

5.6

Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)

43 971

2 373

46 344

5.1

Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)

10 486

579

11 065

5.2

Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K93)

4 750

289

5 039

5.7

Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (L00-L99)

362

25

387

6.5

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (M00-M99)

(a) All causes of death data from 2006 onward are subject to a revisions process - once data for a reference year are 'final', they are no longer revised. Affected data in this table are: 2006 (final) 2007 (final), 2008 (final), 2009 (revised), 2010 (preliminary). See Explanatory Notes 35-39 and Technical Notes, Causes of Death Revisions, 2006 and Causes of Death Revisions, 2008 and 2009.

(b) See Explanatory Notes 89-104 for further information on specific issues relating to 2010 data.

(c) Includes deaths of persons identified as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

(d) Includes total deaths for Australia.

(e) Includes deaths due to Diseases of the eye and adnexa (H00-H59), Diseases of the ear and mastoid processes (H60-H95) and Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O99).